Bear Cubs in the Preserve

 This morning I met Lee who told me her friends Julia and Chris saw two bear cubs in the Preserve last evening. Julia is my new neighbor on Schmitz Ct and I texted her for more precise information. This is what she sent me:

"It was about 8:50 last night. Chris and I entered the trail that's just to the left of the Villages pool. We were almost to the short trail that cuts off to the dog park when we spotted 2 black bear cubs in front of us and off to our left. They were in a tree and were backing down the back side of the tree. As they jumped down and bolted, we turned around and hurried back the way we came. We didn't want to get between a mom and her babies. We then heard a dog barking. Probably from a house that backs up to the preserve, so we assume they went that direction. First time for us to see bear cubs up that close. We were too worried where the mom might be to stick around and watch." Julia also said they had their little dog with them. 

When a bear was spotted in the Preserve previously we were told first to take down all our bird feeders. Bring in all dog and cat food. etc. What else were we told? A big bear is one kind of an alarm, but cubs are a whole different ball game. I advised Julia to inform Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife.